Hey guys, I need help in diagnosing my truck startup issue. I've got an '03 3.4L and it seems to not crankup like it used to. It cranks fine, but it takes longer than it used to to turn over. Like 3 seconds of cranking before turning over with the help of stepping on the gas pedal. I used to not have to step on the gas pedal.
I read somewhere that it could be the sparkplugs, so I just replaced those a month ago. It's been an issue for several months, so it's not a bad gas issue. I've used several tanks of premium gas to help flush out just in case. I also seafoamed the truck through the vacuum lines before changing out the spark plugs.
And it's not the starter, bc it cranks just fine and there's no clicking or anything like that.
The only two things that I haven't done is replace the battery (which is 3 to 4 years old) but I haven't because it has no signs of weakening. And I haven't replaced the fuel filter because supposedly Tacomas have a permanent filter. I did try to replace the fuel filter, but I couldn't get it off after loosening the lines (because the lines went so far into the fuel filter on both ends that I didn't have any wiggle room and couldn't pull them out) so I put it back together. If it is the fuel filter, does anyone have any tips on removing the filter.
Anyone have this issue or can offer suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks yall!

I replaced my fuel filter a few weeks back, and I know what you mean about there not being much wiggle room. I just kinda went for it, I pulled hard on the filter and the fuel line and forced it out. Maybe I got lucky, I don't know. I am glad I replaced it though, the truck runs a LOT smoother now. After I pulled it out, I tapped it against the ground and a mud like substance oozed out. Mine was pretty dirty after 150k miles.

I would also check the battery with a voltmeter (if you have one). If it's taking a long time to turn over it's a pretty good bet that you need a new one.

On a side note, how is your truck running after doing the seafoam? I ran it through my vacuum lines a few weeks ago and I'm idling too low now (sometimes as low as 500rpm).

Ditto Macgyvr - i had to 'forcibly wiggle' mine out - put the new one in and it was rad-smooth. But i had disassembled and cleaned my intake/maf/TB as well so i chalked it all up to everything.

Anyway - Just man-handle that thing. It'll come out. Just make sure the parts store gave you the correct filter prior to ripping the old one out. I had to plug it and go get a different one. I think they gave me the one for the 4cyl... or a completely different vehicle.

My truck also 'slow cranks'

I seem to remember there being a thread about this being an electrical harness issue and that Toyota has a 'fix' which includes a replacement of most of the wiring harness. But i believe it's more trouble than it's worth and is not covered by any warranty/recall - I'm going from memory here, so i could be wrong.

Ditto Macgyvr - i had to 'forcibly wiggle' mine out - put the new one in and it was rad-smooth. But i had disassembled and cleaned my intake/maf/TB as well so i chalked it all up to everything.

Anyway - Just man-handle that thing. It'll come out. Just make sure the parts store gave you the correct filter prior to ripping the old one out. I had to plug it and go get a different one. I think they gave me the one for the 4cyl... or a completely different vehicle.

My truck also 'slow cranks'

I seem to remember there being a thread about this being an electrical harness issue and that Toyota has a 'fix' which includes a replacement of most of the wiring harness. But i believe it's more trouble than it's worth and is not covered by any warranty/recall - I'm going from memory here, so i could be wrong.

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Yeah, removing it was a little more stressful than it should have been. Toyota definitely intended for that to be a "permanent filter." I had also cleaned my throttle body plate, maf, and seafoamed the engine, but it did notice a little more smoothness after replacing the fuel filter. It could have been a placebo affect though.

Also, make sure that you tighten the bolts on the new fuel filter all the way. I was afraid of over torquing it and came out to a puddle of gasoline a few hours later...

I had that EXACT same issue about 6 months ago. Basically I had just purchased a brand new battery and went to Auto Zone to have them test the ignition system and everything checked out ok. Basically it was taking about 3-4 seconds of cranking before it would start up. Although it always started up it still made me nervous so I took it into to the dealership to have it fixed under warranty. It ended up being the fuel sensor that regulates how much pressure of fuel to feed to the injectors. If you PM me I could probably look somewhere over my receipts and get you a part number.

Awesome! Thanks guys. I'll give the fuel filter a try again. I was afraid to break the gas line and have a bigger headache than a slow start. My truck has 140k miles on it and I seafoamed it and it smoked up the neighborhood enough that people gathered around thinking my truck caught on fire. It might be placebo effect, but I thought it gave me more pickup on acceleration. My idle seems fine though. I dunno if it has anything to do with it, but it was recommended to clean the spark plugs after seafoaming.

140k isnt too bad i bought my truck at around 283k and around 291k i felt a bit of lag with the truck (started fine no starting issues) did seafoam spark oil air filters and decided to do the fuel filter (i tried to install it myself but had one hell of a time so i decided to take it to my cousins shop and have him do it he showed me the pressure should be around 50 pounds and my filter was only getting 2 pounds through nonetheless my truck is much smoother now

Did you guys replace the fuel filter with oem part or just an advance auto purolator? I tried to look for the oem part online, but couldn't find the part number. Dunno how pertinent it would be to be oem.

I'm about to do mine. Two questions: Does opening the gas cap release pressure system-wide? Wouldn't you have to remove the fuel pump fuse and crank it to release fully? Also, my oem filter came with 4 little copper gaskets. Two pair actually, each pair in its own little baggie. Is that two a side or are those just extras? Did some searching on that but of course there are plenty of replacements to choose from, this one was $17.99 at AZ.

Hopefully if I don't have to brute it too much I'll find out about the gaskets. Cheers.

haha, yeah i would definitely recommend doing that before the truck's fuel lines are all torn apart. i convinced myself that i wouldn't need 'em and dug into the project, then had to hop on the motorcycle to go grab a set because i was rounding the ends. took all of 5 minutes total once i had the right wrenches!

Just finished the job. About two hours. Looked at it and decided not to go with line wrenches, and stubby handled socket was all I needed. I'm not sure if other trucks have hard lines? Those on my '97 2.7 were soft. Here's my recap.

They are hard all the way up from the tank, and then there's about 16 inches I'd say of foam-covered soft line between a junction on the driver side wheel well and the filter. Post filter, it's soft too but switches back to hard before it meets the injectors. Pretty nice actually, made the job virtually stress free since you don't ever have to torque against a hard line.